Should I Change My Hong Kong Visa Category From Sponsored Employment to Business Investment or Seek Permission to Join in a Side Business Instead?
Posted by The Visa Geeza / in Employment Visas, Investment Visas, Your Question Answered / No responses
Change my Hong Kong visa? This question is less either / or from an immigration perspective but more an issue of full time entrepreneur or not…
PRACTICE UPDATE: How the content must now be read in light of current ImmD policy:QUESTION
This comparative dilemma—weighing whether an employed professional should transition into a full-time entrepreneur visa or maintain employment while securing ImmD consent to join in a side business—must now be framed around ImmD’s elimination of the “employee-to-founder” bridge. Transitioning to a full GEP Entrepreneur visa is no longer a viable leap for professionals launching boutique consultancies on modest personal savings. Because ImmD requires HKD 1.5M–2.0M in deployed liquidity, an exclusive commercial office, and 2 to 3 local staff on active payroll at the point of status change, employees lacking institutional backing should strongly favor remaining under sponsored employment and utilizing the side-business mechanism under Section 99, rather than risking sudden loss of residency by attempting an undercapitalized category swap.
Hi Stephen,
I am currently already on an employment visa (valid for two more years) and would like to start my own company too.
My current employer is supportive.
 1) I understand I can’t work for my own company as of now and i need to submit a letter to ImmD.
Is it better that I submit a letter to ask permission to work for my own company (that I will setup) or should I go in for a transfer of sponsorship.
Are the processes of  ImmD significantly different for the two above – light versus heavy ?
The main benefit of a transfer of sponsorship will be to bring in my dependant wife next year after planned marriage (as compared to being exposed to getting fired at the current place).
2) In either of cases above, shall I be able to issue invoice and bill clients as soon as my company and payment system is setup?
Kindly let me know your views.
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The Hong Kong Visa Geeza (a.k.a Stephen Barnes) is a co-founder of the Hong Kong Visa Centre and author of the Hong Kong Visa Handbook. A law graduate of the London School of Economics, Stephen has been practicing Hong Kong immigration since 1993 and is widely acknowledged as the leading authority on business immigration matters here for the last 24 years.
